Kester Planing Mill · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Neligh’s library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Neligh Public Library serves Neligh’s 1,515 residents. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Neligh’s library
More library cards than residents
2,566 cards for 1,515 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Neligh uses its library more than almost any town its size
Neligh Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Neligh Public Library ran 375 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 248 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,599 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 27% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 29 items per child in Neligh last year. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Neligh Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2024. Today’s library there has 5,700 square feet. The building ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Neligh’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Neligh is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Neligh’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Neligh
17.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Neligh’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Neligh’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
4,681 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Neligh Public Library serves 1,515 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Neligh last year.
A National Register landmark since 2024
Neligh Public Library, 710 Main Street, Neligh.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Neligh? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Neligh Carnegie Library
Neligh Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 26, 2024. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Neligh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $167K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $701K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $167K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 2,566 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Neligh
Does Neligh have a public library?
Yes. Neligh Public Library, 710 Main Street, serves Neligh’s 1,515 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Neligh Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Neligh’s library?
It logged 11.2 visits and lent 28.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Neligh’s civic life grade?
A+ Neligh is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Neligh.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.